The Usos carry on family tradition as WWE champions

World Wrestling Entertainment tag-team champions Jimmy and Jey Uso will be among the stars mixing it up in the ring when “WWE Live” comes to the PCCC Saturday.

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By Jason PisciaStaff Writer

The State Journal-Register

By Jason PisciaStaff Writer

Posted May. 28, 2014 at 10:00 PM

By Jason PisciaStaff Writer

Posted May. 28, 2014 at 10:00 PM

World Wrestling Entertainment tag-team champions Jimmy and Jey Uso will be among the stars mixing it up in the ring when “WWE Live” comes to the Prairie Capital Convention Center on Saturday.

The twin brothers, members of a Samoan family with deep roots in professional wrestling, will defend their titles during a show that also is expected to feature top hero John Cena, the evil Kane, the trio of rising stars known as The Shield and the creepy Wyatt Family. (See information at end of this article for ticket information.)

The Springfield show is WWE's last stop before Sunday night's “Payback” pay-per-view event at the Allstate Arena in suburban Chicago. “Payback” can be viewed via live streaming on the WWE Network or by ordering it through Comcast cable.

Jey Uso (real name: Joshua Fatu), 28, spoke about his career, his legendary family and more by telephone from Albany, N.Y., before a recent live broadcast of WWE's signature television program, “Raw.”

SJ-R: You became tag-team champions March 3, about four years after your WWE debut. Talk about the long road you and your brother have been on and how it felt to finally win the titles.

Uso: Coming in, we had a very good run … and people thought, ‘Hey, this is a new team that's going to take the titles. But obviously that wasn't the case. It took four really long, hard-fought years just to get to the top of the mountain. … Just to finally become a champion, to become part of that Samoan lineage of champions … it was a very good emotional connection between me and my brother.

SJ-R: Your family has a long, successful history in pro wrestling, including your father, who performed as Rikishi in the 1990s and 2000s. How does it feel to add to the legacy with your success?

Uso: At times, it was very intimidating, just to see the road that was paved before us. It came to a point where we started second-guessing ourselves on whether we could fill these shoes. We have a long way to go, but I think we're able to pull it off.

SJ-R: With so many members of your family being pro wrestlers, was it always your and your brother's goal to make it big in the business?

Uso: Growing up, my mom wouldn't even want us to watch it. My mom was really big against us getting into the business because she didn't want us to go through what she and my dad went through. And then the day she found out we signed with WWE, she hung up on us. She got upset. … Of course, my dad fully supported us.

Especially in the summertime (starting around age 8), our dad would take us on the road with him to just experience it. … My dad would tell us to go play around, and we would go straight to the ring and start doing stuff. It came to a point where guys would be sitting there watching me and my brother work each other.

Page 2 of 3 - SJ-R: You've always been known as a tag-team competitor with your brother. Do you have any aspirations to break out on your own and try for a single's championship?

Uso: I feel like me and my brother will never break up. Why can't we be tag-team champions/WWE World Champion or Intercontinental Champion and tag champs? I don't think it has been done before.

But if it came down to it, I think we'd draw a lot of money (if my brother and I broke up and faced each other). Have my dad come in there and get involved.

SJ-R: Your brother and his wife are major cast members on “Total Divas,” the E! reality show following the personal lives of WWE's female stars. (The Season 2 finale airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on Comcast Channel 53.) You sometimes appear in their scenes. What's it like being part of that show and having your family's drama revealed?

Uso: Sometimes it does get overwhelming, especially for my brother. The cameras go home with him, and on his days off they're around him. It does get uncomfortable. Sometimes you're talking with the cameras there, and if we get too deep, then it's like, wait. … To me it's a weird feeling.

SJ-R: Saturday's event in Springfield won't have all of the fancy production elements fans see on WWE's televised shows. What do you like about working in smaller, less-elaborate settings like the PCCC?

Uso: With the smaller venues, I think it's better. It's more intimate with the fans. They react on every little thing they do because it's happening right in front of them. … We can hear them. We can feel them. As far as the big venues, sometimes there's a disconnect because there are so many people.

SJ-R: Because you both wear identical outfits during your wrestling matches, is there an easy way to tell you and your twin brother apart in the ring?

Uso: Jimmy has me by about 15-20 pounds. He's the bigger twin. I have two full sleeve tattoos, and Jimmy has one full sleeve. … Also, the left side of my face is painted, and Jimmy's right side is painted.